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UNICEF TB-3.Pages ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] THE UNITED NATIONS International Children's Emergency Fund ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] Committee: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Topic B: Combating domestic slavery of children in the 21st century Written by: Guillermo Montemayor, Ana Cris Murrieta Salazar and Katia Peña I. Committee Background The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was created on December 11, 1946 in New York City, United States. Its purpose is to promote the rights and wellbeing of every child around the world. Also, the committee works with government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to overcome obstacles such as poverty, violence, disease and discrimination, that interfere in a child’s physical, emotional and psychological development. Currently, UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories. Its board of directors consists of 36 member states that are selected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) every three years. As of 2017, the committee is focused on providing vaccines, antiretroviral medicines for children and mothers with HIV/AIDs, nutritional supplements, emergency shelters and educational supplies to those most in need (About Us, UNICEF, 2017). II. Topic information A) History of Topic Domestic slavery is the exploitation and control of someone, usually from another country or culture. It is a form of forced labor, but it also has its own category in the definition of slavery because of the unique challenges it presents. Likewise, a ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] house or domestic slave is a slave who works and lives in the house of the owner. Child slavery is identified as the slavery of children at a young age. Many children are sold into slavery in order for their family to repay debts or to earn money. Children between the ages of 5-17 who become slaves often work in households doing chores such as cooking, cleaning, serving meals and caring for children. Currently, there are an estimated 168 million child laborers around the world (End Slavery Now, 2017). Between 2005 and 2008, the amount of children sold into slavery grew exponentially. Numerous children were traded and bought to act as child slaves and domestic workers. There are around 5.5 million children working as domestic slaves. Child slaves are usually sold illegally on websites located in the deep web. An average child slave costs around 90-100 United States dollars. Young girls are usually the cheapest to buy and are favored over boys for domestic slavery. Due to the low price, child slaves are not considered investments. They are often seen as disposable which endangers their lives if they fail to complete tasks or reach adulthood (Free the Slaves, 2017). Child slavery is a significant problem because it can physically wear out children and mentally harm them. Additionally, this also prevents children from having a normal childhood and keeps them out of school. Many children work for long hours, get very little sleep and do not receive the nutrition that they need. They are often under a lot of stress and anxiety to quickly and correctly accomplish tasks. Moreover, young girls often experience sexual abuse while working as domestic slaves. All of these factors can lead to premature ageing, malnutrition, depression, drug dependency and early pregnancy (Humanium, 2010). ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] The countries with the most domestic child slaves are India, China and Pakistan. It is a very difficult problem to eliminate due to the fact that it is linked to social and cultural norms in many countries. For example, in some nations, families see it as a form of apprenticeship or education, so a young girl can become prepared for domestic life as a wife and mother. Domestic child enslavement is prevalent in nations that suffer from poverty, high rates of illiteracy and gender and ethnic discrimination. That said, it does exist in developed nations such as the United States and is a worldwide phenomenon, not one solely associated with a nation’s level of development (ILO, 2017). B) Current Issues Qatar: Child labor is forbidden for those who have Qatari citizenship, however, foreign born children are vulnerable to child slavery (Children of Qatar, Humanium, 2012). Also, domestic workers are not included in the nation’s labor laws. Draft laws have been written but have not yet been approved by the government. As a result, domestic workers are usually women and children who have entered the country illegally. They have no access to medical care, government benefits and cannot file a report with the police. If they escape from their place of enslavement, they will be arrested and detained until they can be deported. Without the correct paperwork, the detainment can last months to years (World Report 2016: Qatar, Human Rights Watch, 2016). Japan: There are an estimated 290,200 enslaved people in Japan. The majority of these people are adults who work in industrial factories. Japan has made progress in trying to eliminate forced child labor within its borders. The Japanese constitution bans ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] child labor for young people under the age of 15 (Japan, ILO, 2017). The country is also a supporter of combating child slavery. In 2013, it led the Red Card to Child Labour Campaign, which was created by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour to bring attention to the growing issue of forced child labor in Asia and Africa (Red Card to Child Labour Campaign, ILO, 2013). Greece: In Greece, the minimum age of employment is 15. However, many children work for their families on farms, in hotels and at construction sites. Due to the influx of migrants entering the nation in the past fifteen years, Greece now has a large population of foreign-born children who work on the streets. These children wash car windows, sell snacks and newspapers. They often are not paid. Due to this, in 2003, the government passed a law that punishes those who force children to sell items on the street. Those convicted can spend up to six months in jail. Currently, there are no available statistics on children that are forced into domestic slavery (Library of Congress, 2015). Haiti: In Haiti, there is a traditional system of child slavery called Restavèk. In this system, children from poor homes are sent to homes of the rich to work as domestic slaves. The child’s family usually receives some monetary compensation. The child’s day is long, up to 14 hours of non-stop work, and full of difficult chores. The children often sleep on the floor, wear dirty clothes, eat leftover food and are beaten and raped by their owners. Free the Slaves estimates that there are 150,000 to 300,000 enslaved in this system in Haiti (Haiti, Free the Slaves, 2017). ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] Brazil: There are about 325,000 domestic child slaves between the ages of 10 and 17 working in Brazil. Since the early 1990s, Brazil has been striving to eliminate domestic child slavery. According to Global Policy Forum, through a mixture of education, home inspections, laws and social assistance programs, Brazil has had an impressive decrease in the amount of children engaged in child slavery. Of course, more needs to be done, especially in rural areas. Most of Brazil’s focus has been on large cities and the poor populations residing within them (Pereira, Global Policy Forum, 2010). United Arab Emirates: According to Human Rights Watch, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a major problem with domestic slavery. Countless women and children are brought into the country under false pretences and are then trapped and forced to work as slaves. They work up to 21 hours, are not paid, cannot leave their place of employment, and are often beaten, raped and verbally abused. In 2014, the UAE made some changes to its labor laws which included providing domestic workers with a day off and at least eight hours of rest each day. However, many disregard this rule and domestic workers who are not paid are not included in its protection (United Arab Emirates, Human Rights Watch, 2014). Bulgaria: Many children in Bulgaria are trafficked or forced into working at a young age. Hundreds of children each year are trafficked to other countries such as France and Greece. These children usually end up being sold into domestic or sexual slavery. Within the country, children from poor families are sold into domestic slavery. Their parents are paid a small sum of money and the children a forced to work long hours, cooking, cleaning and looking after small children, without pay. Bulgaria passed a law ! ISRMUN 2017 Ave. Real San Agustín No. 4 CP. 66260 Garza García, N.L México. + (52) (81) 8625 1500 [email protected] banning work for children under the age of 13, however, it has done very little to prevent child slavery within the nation (Children of Bulgaria, Humanium, 2012). Hungary: Hungary is a source, transit and destination country for child slavery and trafficking. Romani children are particularly targeted by groups that kidnap and traffic children within the country and to other nations in Eastern Europe.
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